This will be the case in certain municipalities or cantons of the Alpes-Maritimes, but more particularly in the Nice cantons where the positions of general councillors will be contested, a true indicator of the upcoming Nice municipal elections looming on the horizon in 2014.
And in these Nice cantons, if there is one that gathers and also focuses all the attention, it is indeed the 14th canton, which is currently under the auspices of the socialist Nice municipal councillor, Paul Cuturello, who will put his seat on the line against two local political heavyweights: the Deputy Mayor of Nice and regional councillor, Dominique Estrosi-Sassone, and the former Mayor of Nice, Jacques Peyrat, who returns to his first love by running in a canton where he began his Nice political career. A triumvirate that promises a vigorous campaign and, while not all tactics may be allowed, is likely to leave some feathers scattered here and there, as per the declarations of each. It is difficult, if not impossible, to make a prediction in this canton, even if overall, the advantage goes to the incumbent. However, in this specific case, only a clever person could name the winner on the evening of March 27.
The calm before the storm
Undoubtedly, with the help of the year-end holidays, the candidates have not really come out of the woods yet, and the communication is currently at a standstill for each of the three front-runners. The same goes for the media, where each appears more or less regularly but without really alluding, or only between the lines, to the upcoming election and the campaign that will precede it.
Indeed, the presence of the three elected officials has become much more regular in the districts making up the canton, and this will only accelerate in the coming weeks from Moulins to Saint-Augustin, via Arenas or Sainte-Marguerite. The grand game of “avoiding crossing paths” will be able to begin in markets and public gatherings.
Shall we watch a movie?
While Paul Cuturello holds a small advantage on the web side with his official website that he has been regularly maintaining for years, neither Dominique Estrosi-Sassone nor Jacques Peyrat have yet unveiled their internet communication platform. On Facebook, Dominique Estrosi-Sassone and Paul Cuturello have been present since the early days of the social network, with 611 friends for the Deputy Mayor and 330 friends for the opposition municipal councillor, while Jacques Peyrat is still the underperformer on the web with only 24 friends. Whereas the former Mayor of Nice has never been very prominent on the web, the absence of Ms. Estrosi-Sassone is more surprising, and we should not wait very long to see her internet communication platform emerge as a campaign support.
Indeed, it is difficult today to imagine bypassing the thousands of voters connected to the internet via their computers, phones, or other tablets. And how can one not take advantage of these tools, such as Facebook and, to a lesser extent, Twitter, to reach friends or contacts in just one click.
